Agenda and minutes

Open session for members of the public to ask a question, raise a concern or provide feedback.

There were no questions from members of the public.

There were no apologies for absence.

Transport Committee members only.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests at the meeting.

There were no items that required the exemption of the press and public.

Please note that these minutes are presented for information and cannot be approved during this informal meeting.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March be noted.

For information.

Resolved: That the notes of the informal joint DCSC meeting held on 26 August be noted.

Members considered the information report and were updated on the work underway to establish the enhanced partnership and the business case for adopting franchising powers.

Members discussed issues affecting the bus industry with patronage at just shy of 75% of pre pandemic levels with different travelling patterns. Another issue raised was around driver shortages nationally.

Transdev had acquired Yorkshire Tiger and provided a presentation to members regarding the state of the service and their plans for the service in the region.

The Transport Committee review was ongoing, but no changes would take place in this municipal year and updates would be provided at a future meeting.

Members discussed demand responsive transport and the east Leeds pilot, as well a potential roll out of the service in Calderdale.

Members noted the progress made on a rail station at Elland and the work underway on Halifax Bus Station.

Resolved: That the report be noted

Representatives from operators were in attendance and provided the following updates:

·       Transdev reported the issues they had experienced with driver shortages with 95 recruits held up waiting for licenses or tests.   

·       Transdev also discussed their effort to attract new customers to their service including free day tickets and a £1 evening fare.

·       First were supportive of the work on Halifax Bus Station and noted that temporary arrangements for services operating smoothly there while it was under construction.

·       First reported that their patronage numbers peaked at 74% of 2019 numbers and reiterated the challenge around driver shortages.

·       Northern reported that performance remained strong with time to 3 at every station on route achieving a figure of 88%

·       Customer numbers were at around 75% with a huge upturn in leisure journeys but a downturn in traditional commuter times which were below 40% of pre pandemic levels.

·       Northern sought to address this trend by marketing commuter journeys with flexible season tickets to fit with new working patterns.

Resolved: That the operator updates be noted.  

Due to a technical issue with the West Yorkshire combined Authority network, it was not possible to consider this item at the meeting. The presentation would be circulated to members for questions and comments.